So sorry to hear about this problem. Will keep you in my thoughts and prayers for a quick recovery.

I have some kind of hearing sensitivity (tinnitus I guess) that seems to flair up whenever there is "loud" music. Noticeable when the choir/instrumentalists crescendo. Sigh... what can you do? I NEVER wear earbuds, and instead only wear conventional earphones and keep the volume down at all times. Seems to help, but probably has nothing to do with your situation...

I had a repeat hearing test today. Echo is almost completely gone and got a little more low range. Maybe another 50hz. So not too much improvement on low frequencies. I opted to take the inner ear injections. Very unpleasant! The initial shot hurt and then Some pressure pain for about an hour. 5 more to go every Monday and Thursday. Hoping to gain full hearing.

I had the second shot yesterday. I was ready for what it felt like so I didn’t shutter at the initial stick and fill! Still feels really weird having fluid (liquid steroids) injected into you inner ear. Takes about an hour for the pressure to subside.

Doctor will do another hearing test in March (about a month after the last injection) to check for any recovery. However he said recovery has taken as long as 6 months in some patients, so It’s possible it might linger until summer...so will be a while before my next post.

My advice: if this happens to you, get to your doctor immediately. Make sure they check the ear canal and middle ear for fluid and other problems. If they don’t find any issues, most doctors will stop there and prescribe antibiotic for an ear infection thinking that the cause.

In addition, make sure they do the tuning fork test. It’s the only way to confirm the difference between and ear infection and SSHL.

They strike a tuning fork and place it on the upper center of your forehead. With an ear infection you can still hear the tuning fork in both ears. With Sudden Sensionueral Hearing Loss, only one ear will be able to hear it.

If the doctor prescribes antibiotics because he is thinking it must be an ear infection (because he didn’t do the tuning fork test)and you have an SSHL, you’ll be wasting 2 weeks not taking steroids, and possible close your recovery window.

(01-16-2018, 05:13 PM)jmcmillan Wrote: However he said recovery has taken as long as 6 months in some patients, so It’s possible it might linger until summer...we shall see.

From this end of it, no doubt 6 months feels like it will be a long time, but eventually what you are enduring now, will just be a distant memory. That's how I like to approach things like this. I try to imagine what it will be like a year or two after I've fully recovered and I focus on that.